Blue Ridge Parkway

[casandel]

Planning a spring trip north from Ashville on Blue Ridge Parkway towing my 30 footer. Any concerns to be aware of for this route?

[TexasMarci]

Hope you get an answer because we are thinking about the same trip - and I don't do up/down/curve left/curve right very well - a vertigo thing - LOL

[Silverbee]

It is a beautiful drive. Be prepared for a 45 mile per hour speed limit, which is strictly enforced. Also gas is not available on the Parkway but is available not far off the Parkway at many U.S. or State Highway intersections. There are some low tunnels. This might help with what to expect with that.
https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvis...el-heights.htm

Most people enjoy it more when not towing.

[nvestysly]

We've traveled most of the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway as well as much of Skyline Drive. We didn't have an issue with tunnel heights on either road. The speed limit on the roads is a bit slow but it allows you to enjoy the drive.

Not to hijack the thread but we found Skyline Drive to be much more enjoyable because the trees are trimmed in strategic areas and that provides much better vistas. Skyline is operated in a different fashion than Blue Ridge - perhaps the $15 Skyline charges for entry is utilized for maintenance of the scenic overlooks.

Enjoy your time on Blue Ridge but don't overlook Skyline for your next trip.

[AWCHIEF]

Take it slow and easy. Stop at every opportunity and enjoy the views and hiking. Most of the Parkway Campgrounds are dry camping.

[GeeSag]

Plan on going shorter mileage days than you would ever consider on a normal road.
Reason: the turns get monotonous and almost painful if you try to accomplish too many miles in a day.
You have to slow down for most turns.
And it is continuous turns...Turn to the right, then left, then right, then left.
There are very few straight-aways. It can be quite fatiguing with the constant slowing down for turns.
Yes, it is beautiful, but best enjoyed in small drive sections.

[xrvr]

Watch speed. Tickets are a federal law violation.. At least it used to be!

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by nvestysly

Skyline is operated in a different fashion than Blue Ridge - perhaps the $15 Skyline charges for entry is utilized for maintenance of the scenic overlooks.ip.

The fee has risen to $25. Byway robbery.

[ExStreamin]

Originally Posted by Silverbee

It is a beautiful drive. Be prepared for a 45 mile per hour speed limit, which is strictly enforced. Also gas is not available on the Parkway but is available not far off the Parkway at many U.S. or State Highway intersections. There are some low tunnels. This might help with what to expect with that.
https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvis...el-heights.htm

Most people enjoy it more when not towing.

Thanks for the link. It looks like 10 feet 6 inches is the lowest point. I believe all airstreams are lower than that.

[Airdream99]

We traveled most of the BRP northern section including some of Skyline Drive last year from Virginia to Asheville. I have done it in the past with just a car. Towing a trailer on the BRP is pretty tough in my opinion and not enjoyable. It is hard to navigate many pull offs, constant down hill turns, etc. We ended up leaving the trailer at each campground, doing a few side trips on the BRP then jumping ahead to our next camp via less challenging roads which were usually much longer but much quicker drives. We also stayed a week in Asheville so had plenty of time to do BRP side trips both north and south. Much more enjoyable in just your tow vehicle. I agree also with the comment about the tree trimming that is not being done on the BRP. Many of the best lookouts are grown over. I don't know if this is for environmental or budget reasons but it is kind of contrary to the purpose of the road in my opinion.

[LY007]

If a car or line of cars has been following you for a few minutes, you might want to pull off into one of the scenic overlooks and let them pass.

[Bill M.]

No problems on the parkway at all. But be very careful choosing access routes and using the GPS in that area when off the parkway.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by GeeSag

the turns get monotonous and almost painful if you try to accomplish too many miles in a day.
You have to slow down for most turns.
And it is continuous turns...Turn to the right, then left, then right, then left.
There are very few straight-aways. It can be quite fatiguing with the constant slowing down for turns.
Yes, it is beautiful, but best enjoyed in small drive sections.

That's one thing I learned when my Airstream Interstate was still new and I drove Scenic Highway 7 in Arkansas— it's not very scenic at all for the driver! You don't dare look away from the road long enough to even see the scenery. So I guess that makes it unscenery… But on the plus side, driving such a twisty-turny-uppy-downy road taught me more in one day about how my Interstate handles than a month of driving other roads. And it gave me the confidence to drive that big Sprinter van anywhere else.

If I ever do the Blue Ridge Parkway (Or Scenic Highway 7 again, for that matter) I'll do it with a set of 3 dash-cams (go-pros, maybe), one looking forward and one to each side, so that later I can review all the scenery that I missed!

[Bill M.]

The Blue Ridge Parkway does have a lot of pull offs to stop and enjoy the scenery.

[Mollysdad]

The road is beautiful.
It's wide as any two lane road.
Curves are gentle.
There are no billboards or gas stations right off the exit. They did this on purpose.
The speed limit is 45.
Watch for bears in the road.
Asheville is a great little town.

[AtomicNo13]

We did the entire parkway from South to north last June.
Was a great trip. Stayed at all of the campgrounds, which meant some days we only drove a 30 miles day. Took us 2 weeks.
All services available just off the parkway. Plan to do it again this fall, but north to south. Traffic increases and camps fill close to leaf color change time.

Great drive!